Catawba Falls

I thought our Catawba Falls hike was a lot of fun. This is a short hike (about 2 miles round trip I think) located about 27 miles east of Asheville. Just take I-​40 to exit 73 — Catawba Ave /​Old Fort. The trailhead and parking lot is located at:
530 Warren Mountain Drive
Old Fort, NC 28 762
I’m not a hiker nor do I hike regularly. I can probably count the number of times I’ve hiked using one, maybe two, hands. That said, I thought this was an easy hike, but it does have some «challenging» sections so it’s not for everyone.
The trail runs along the Catawba River and you have to cross the river a couple times. There are no sturdy bridges or anything, just logs and stepping stones, so you have to have a somewhat decent level of coordination and balance to cross the river without falling or getting wet. So keep in mind, your shoes may get wet.
You’ll also want to make sure your shoes have good grip so you don’t slip on the wet rocks and logs while crossing the river. For older folks, a hiking stick might help. The river is shallow at the crossing points, so you can walk through the water if you want. The water will go up to your ankles, maybe halfway up your calves at most.
Aside from river crossings, the rest of the hike is easy peasy. The trail is pretty well defined and wide during most stretches. Aside from the falls themselves, what I like about this hike is how scenic it is along the way. Since you’re walking alongside the river, there are several nice stopping points and open, airy views to take in.
What’s interesting to me are the old structures along the trail. There used to be some sort of building or facility here. Not sure what. On the way up, there looks like what used to be a dam. It’s one of multiple good stopping points to take a break and for photos.
Apparently, there are two waterfalls on this trail: Catawba Falls and Upper Catawba Falls. I think we only made it to the regular Catawba Falls. I took pictures of it and uploaded them with this review. I also took a video clip at the falls and posted it to YouTube here:
I think the pictures and videos are all you really need to see to get an idea of what these falls are like. If facing these falls, to the right is a steeper trail that goes to what I think are the Upper Catawba Falls. That trail looks more difficult than the trail to the regular Catawba Falls due to steepness alone.
In August 2015, a teenager and a man in his 30s fell at Catawba Falls within about a week of one another. Both were injured and had to be flown to Mission Hospital in Asheville.
I took a picture of some plaques at the trailhead. One of the plaques reads:
«Catawba Falls Access and Trailhead secured and protected by Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina. 88 acres added to Pisgah National Forest. March 25, 2010.»
The trailhead has men’s and women’s restrooms (men and women pee and poop into the same big, cavernous hole). There’s toilet paper inside, but you’ll want to bring your own hand sanitizer because there are no sinks. There are bear-​proof trash receptacles, information boards, and plenty of parking.
I think this is a good trail for all ages and also dogs.

Great hike right off 40 if you are driving to Asheville and don’t want to have to go far out of your way. Only word of caution is that you will have to ford the river and the water is likely very cold. If you are walking dogs (like I was) there is a good chance you will fall in (like I did). Wear shoes that can get wet and keep a change of clothes in the car and you will be set for a beautiful one hour hike!

This is a fantastic hike! Make sure you bring water proof shoes because the first stream you cross you might get wet! after that its a great 1.5 mile hike with an amazing view at the end! Once you get to the end of the hike you can go a little bit farther, but it should be for experienced hikers only as it can be a bit dangerous. It was our favorite part of the whole trip!

This is a moderate hike that is about 1.5 miles to the base of the lower falls and then 1.5 miles back to the parking lot. There’s plenty of parking at the end of the road where the clearly marked trailhead begins. The hike takes you over some rocky terrain with 3 small creeks to cross over. It took our group 35 minutes to reach the falls. We climbed up the slippery rocks to almost half way up the cascading falls before it got too steep and slippery to climb. The small base pool is only about 2 feet deep at the lowest point so don’t expect much swimming. Overall, this is a nice family hike to an average waterfall that’s right off of 40 just outside of Asheville. Bring your dog too as there are a lot of dogs on the trail.